Online head-to-head comparisons of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Atari's Ghostbusters: The Video Game indicate that one of those high-def consoles is offering a less "feel good" experience.
Game blog Lens of Truth put both the PS3 and 360 versions of the game under the their... lens of truth, achieving results that show the PlayStation 3 version appears to be filtered through a fine film of ectoplasmic residue. What does that mean in technical terms? Decreased texture quality, lower resolution and missing shadowing and lighting effects, according to the site's tests.
The blog's side-by-side comparison isn't favorable to the PS3 version, which they point out carries with it a substantial hard drive installation to little perceived benefit.
A similar test was run by Digital Foundry's Richard Leadbetter, who handles head-to-head console comparisons for Eurogamer. Two of his findings highlighting the quality differences can be seen here and here. He also tweeted earlier this week "At the gutter end of Face-Off 20 with Ghostbusters: The Video Game. It's like time-warping back to the dawn of PS3 development." We'll assume that's a reference to previous quality differences between Xbox 360 games and their PlayStation 3 counterparts.
We've contacted Atari, its third-party PR firm and Ghostbusters developers Terminal Reality but have yet (checks again) to receive a response to our inquiries about the differences.
What can we learn here? Well, if you're equipped with both consoles, your decision about which version to purchase might have been made a little easier. If you're in PAL land and were on the fence about importing a region free copy of the game, perhaps this detailed look at the game's visuals will get your ass off the fence.
We'd definitely recommend exercising caution in the comments. Because it could get bad in there if people don't behave themselves. How bad? Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light.
Head2Head: Ghostbusters [Lens of Truth]